Bad Diaspora Poems: A Conversation with Momtaza Mehri & Pooja Nansi

What does it mean to write diaspora without falling into a single story of loss?

In this Fireside Chat, poet and essayist Momtaza Mehri joins moderator Pooja Nansi for an intimate conversation on displacement, humour, and "uneasy delight." Together, they explore how joy and irony can coexist with historical fracture, how borders and passports shape the stories we're allowed to tell, and how the digital age reshapes our sense of home.

The conversation also ventures into Momtaza's craft — navigating research-heavy creative projects, storytelling as inheritance, and moving fluidly across timelines, generations, languages, and forms. Following a brief reading, the session opens up to audience Q&A, inviting emerging and established writers alike into the dialogue.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Cancellation:

The programme can be cancelled or postponed two weeks before the programme date if the minimum number of 8 participants is not met. Participants will be fully refunded for workshops cancelled by us.

Participants who are unable to attend a workshop they have registered for are to inform us of the reason two weeks before the workshop date. They will be fully refunded in the event of extenuating and mitigating circumstances (E.g. illness, bereavement, accidents). Those who inform us up to 5 working days before the workshop date will receive a 50% refund. Those who do not turn up at the workshop will not receive a refund.

Upon registration, you are deemed to have read and understood the cancellation and withdrawal policy and accept the terms contained therein.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Momtaza Mehri

Momtaza Mehri is a writer and researcher working across poetry, criticism, education, and radio. She was the Poet-in-Residence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, as well as the former Young People’s Poet Laureate for London. Her debut poetry collection, Bad Diaspora Poems won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, as well as an Eric Gregory Prize, Somerset Maugham Award, and a Sky Arts Award. She is obsessed with the slippage and spillage of histories and ideas.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Pooja Nansi

Pooja Nansi is an award-winning poet, performer, educator, and Chief Publisher at AFTERIMAGE Press. She is the author of three poetry collections and the recipient of Singapore’s Young Artist Award and France’s Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She was Festival Director of the Singapore Writers’ Festival (2019–2023). She currently teaches creative writing at Nanyang Technological University.